Systems and methods for monitoring network-based voice messaging systems

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for monitoring a call directed to a telephony network-based voice messaging service (VMS) implemented using packet-switched data network telephone conferencing resources, such as an IP-based voice-over-IP conferencing system. The systems and methods use one or more media gateway systems providing an interface between a conventional telephony domain and packet-switched data domain. When a call is to be redirected to the VMS system, the telephony network routes the call via the packet-switched data network using the media gateway. An application server in the packet-switched data network maintains registration information associated with the subscriber. If the subscriber is logged onto the packet-switched data network, the conferencing resources are used to establish a conference call between the caller, the VMS and the subscriber.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/021,049, filed Dec. 19, 2001, the content ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systems,and more particularly, the present invention relates to enhancednetwork-based voice messaging services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telephone systems have become a central means for communicating withothers on a real-time basis. However, for a variety of reasons, it isgenerally not possible or convenient for subscribers to answer everytelephone call received. For example, with the high volume of junk calls(e.g., telemarketing, wrong numbers, and the like) many subscriberschoose not to answer an incoming call. Subscribers may screen theircalls using an answering machine that allows them to monitor the messageas the caller records it. If the subscriber then recognizes the calleras someone he wants to speak to, he can override the answering machineand take the call. Answering machines have also been beneficial in thosecircumstances where the subscriber is not available to receive a call.In that case, the caller can still leave a message for the subscriber.

However, answering machines are vulnerable to malfunction due to loss ofpower, depleted recording media, and the like. Furthermore, if thesubscriber's line is busy, the caller cannot get through to leave amessage on an answering machine. To solve these problems,telecommunications service providers have developed network-based voicemessaging systems (VMS). Such systems are generally maintained incontrolled environments with adequate backup power supplies andredundant systems for high reliability. Furthermore, VMS systems may beconfigured to receive inbound calls when the subscriber's line is notavailable. Accordingly, conventional VMS systems have greatly improvedthe capabilities for subscribers to ensure callers can leave a messagewhen the subscriber does not answer a call. A problem remains, however,for those subscribers who desire the capability to monitor messages asthey are being recorded and the capability to intervene in the call tospeak to the caller.

FIG. 1 shows how conventional voice messaging services operate. PSTNdomain 100 includes telephony systems such as switches 102 and 104.Switch 102 serves the subscriber's telephone 106 and switch 104 servesvoice messaging system (VMS) server 108. Switches 102 and 104, forexample, may be the same switch or may be different switches as shown inFIG. 1. Switches 102 and 104 may be a circuit-switched service switchingpoints (SSPs) such as the switches used in advanced intelligent networks(AIN) or may be a packet-switched network element. PSTN domain 100 alsocomprises PSTN 110 which may include for example, local exchangecarriers, competitive local exchange carriers, long distance carriers,and the like. PSTN 110 may provide a network link between switches 102and 104, as shown in FIG. 1.

When a caller, using, for example, telephone 116 calls the subscriber attelephone 106, the call will be processed by the subscriber's hostswitch 102 in the normal manner. If subscriber line 106 a is busy or thecall is not answered, the call is forwarded from switch 102 to VMSserver 108 via PSTN 110 and switch 104. VMS server 108 may provide amessage to the caller prompting him to record a message. VMS server 108may also provide a variety of other options to the caller (e.g., messagepriority, replay recorded message, and the like).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for monitoring a calldirected to a network-based voice messaging service (VMS) viapacket-based network conferencing resources, such as, for example anIP-based voice-over-IP telephony system. The system and method use oneor more media gateway systems providing an interface between aconventional telephony domain and the Packet-switched data networkdomain. When a call is to be redirected to the VMS system, it is routedvia the Packet-switched data network domain using the media gateway. Anapplication server in the Packet-switched data network domain maintainsregistration information associated with the subscriber. If thesubscriber is logged onto the Packet-switched data network domain, theconferencing resources are used to establish a conference call betweenthe caller, the VMS and the subscriber.

In embodiments of the present invention, the subscriber may activelyparticipate in the conference call. That is, as with conventionalanswering machines, the subscriber may listen to the caller leaving amessage with the voice messaging service and decide to answer the call.In this case, the voice messaging service may be dropped from theconference call.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional implementation of anetwork-based voice messaging system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an implementation of an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the presentinvention including a presence database.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram showing the voice path that may be usedin an embodiment of the present invention when a subscriber is notavailable to monitor the call.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing exemplary steps that may be used tocarry out an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing additional communications pathsthat may be used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an architecture that may be used toimplement an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an architecture that may be used toimplement an another alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for allowing asubscriber of a network-based voice messaging service to remotelymonitor callers as they record messages to the subscriber's voicemessaging service. The invention further provides systems and methodsfor allowing the subscriber to interrupt callers as they are recording amessage, so that the subscriber may intercept the telephone call andspeak to the caller.

Architecture Used in an Exemplary Embodiment

In an exemplary embodiment, a telephony network is integrated with adata network to provide an affordable system for carrying out thepresent invention. FIG. 2 shows an architecture that may be used toimplement an embodiment of the present invention. For clarity in thisdescription, FIG. 2 shows two basic domains: Public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) domain 100 and packet-switched data network domain 200.However, the line of demarcation between the domains is arbitrary. PSTNdomain 100 includes the same elements as described above in relation toFIG. 1. As noted above, packet-switched data network domain 200 may beany suitable data network, including, for example, an Internet Protocol(IP) network.

Media gateways 112 and 114 may provide an interface between PSTN domain100 and packet-switched data network domain 200. Packet-switched datanetwork domain 200 may comprise conference server 202, call agent 204,application server 206, presence database 208 (see FIG. 3) and packettelephony client 210. In an embodiment of the present invention, mediagateways 112 and 114 may be the same gateway, that is a single systemmay be used to provide an inbound and outbound interface betweentelephony domain 100 and Packet-switched data network domain 200. Packettelephony client 210 may be collocated with telephone 106 (i.e., thesubscriber may implement a monitoring system to screen calls forwardedto voice mail using a computer system in proximity to his subscribertelephone). Alternatively, packet telephony client may be at a remotelocation allowing the subscriber to monitor calls from other locations.The functions and operations of these systems (i.e., gateways, servers,packet telephony client, and the like) are described in more detailbelow.

Operation in an Exemplary Embodiment

When a caller, using, for example, telephone 116 calls a subscriber attelephone 106, the call may be processed by the subscriber's switch 102in the normal manner. That is, the switch may attempt to terminate(i.e., connect) the call to the subscriber's line 106 a. If subscriberline 106 a is busy or the call is not answered, the call may beforwarded from switch 102 to inbound media gateway 112 viacommunications link 10. As shown in FIG. 2, communications link 10 mayprovide a voice path from switch 102 to media gateway 112.Communications link 10 may also transport information about the call,such as, for example, the calling party number (CgPN) and the calledparty number (CdPN) (i.e., the directory number associated withsubscriber line 106 a). Upon receiving the call, media gateway 112 maynotify, via communications link 1, call agent 204 that an inbound callhas been received. As shown in FIG. 2, communications link 1 may providea data path from media gateway 112 to call agent 204. The notificationmessage may include information that may be used to identify thesubscriber, such as, for example, the CdPN.

Call agent 204 may be any system adapted to provide call controlfunctions in a voice-over-data network. An example of a suitable callagent may be a soft-switch system, such as, for example, the Alcatel1000 Multimedia Multiservice Exchange (available from Alcatel, Paris,France) and switches provided by other vendors including, for example,Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, N.J.), Sonus Networks (Westford,Mass.), and the like. Call agent functions may also be provided via amedia gateway controller, such as for example, the Cisco Media GatewayController (available from Cisco Systems, San Jose, Calif.), and thelike. When call agent 204 receives the inbound call notification, it maynotify application server 206 via communications link 2, which providesa data path between the systems. Application server 206 may be anysuitable computer system that has a central processor, a memory andapplication processing logic. Application server 206 provides theprocessing logic for implementing an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Application server 206 may include one or more databases used to storeconfiguration information related to the service. For example, adatabase may be used to store one or more network addresses (e.g., an IPaddress, if the underlying data network is an IP network) associatedwith the subscriber's packet telephony client 210. Such databases may beinternal to application server 206 or may be some other database system(not shown in the Figures). Packet telephony client 210 is a networksystem associated with the subscriber of the service. Packet telephonyclient 210 may be any suitable voice-over-data system, such as forexample, voice-over-IP systems. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, packet telephony client 210 may comprise a softwareapplication running on a computer system. In another embodiment, packettelephony client 210 may comprise a network appliance adapted to providevoice-over-data network service. Voice-over-data systems may be based onthe well-known H.323 communications protocol, session initiationprotocol (SIP), or some other suitable packet telephony protocols. Thenetwork address for packet telephony client may be a pre-defined networkaddress. That is, in some embodiments, a subscriber may be known to usethe same packet telephony client system to monitor incoming callsaccording to the present invention. In other embodiments, a subscribermay use multiple packet telephony clients or may not have astatically-assigned network address. In this case, the subscriber maylog-in or register each time he begins a session to inform the networkof his address. Such notification may be manually performed by thesubscriber or may be an automatic process initiated, for example,whenever the user logs into his computer system.

In one embodiment of the present invention, which may be implementedusing an architecture show in FIG. 2, application server 206 instructscall agent 204 to initiate call legs between the caller, the VMS system,and the packet telephony client 210 through conference server 202 evenif the subscriber is not available at packet telephony client 210. Inthis embodiment, application server 206 may first instruct call agent204 to set up call legs (i.e., voice paths) 12, 14, and 16 from inboundmedia gateway 112 to conference server 202, from conference server 202to media gateway 114, and from outbound media gateway 114 to VMS server108 (via switch 104), respectively. Call agent 204 may send appropriateinstructions to inbound media gateway 112, conference server 202 andoutbound media gateway 114 via communications links 1, 3 and 4,respectively. Accordingly, in this embodiment, application server 206does not check to determine whether or not the subscriber has actuallylogged into the network and conference resources are allocated toprovide a voice path between the caller and VMS server 108.

In this embodiment, application server 206 may then look up a networkaddress associated with packet telephony client 210. The look up mayinclude, for example, searching for the CdPN (i.e., the subscriber's DN)in a database to locate the associated network address. Once the networkaddress has been determined, application server 206 may instruct callagent 204 to set up a call leg from conference server 202 to packettelephony client 210.

Application server 206 may instruct call agent 204 to send an invitationto the subscriber to join the conference call. In response to theinstruction, call agent 204 may send a message to packet telephonyclient 210 via communications link 6. The message may inform thesubscriber that a caller is recording a message to his voice messagingsystem and may provide an opportunity for the subscriber to monitor thecall. If the subscriber accepts the invitation, a voice path may beestablished, via communications link 18, between packet telephony client210 and conference server 202. Once all of the voice paths have beenestablished, a three-way conference call is in progress between thecaller at telephone 116, VMS server 108 and the subscriber at packettelephony client 210. If the subscriber declines the invitation, orthere is no response from packet telephony client 210, the call betweenthe caller and VMS server 108 continues unimpeded, but still utilizesresources on conference server 202.

Operation Using a Presence Database

In other embodiments of the present invention, application server 206may first query whether or not the subscriber is available to monitorhis calls. The architecture shown in FIG. 3A may be used to implementsuch embodiments. FIG. 3A includes all of the components described inFIG. 2 and additionally includes presence database 208. Applicationserver 206 may query a database or other information file to make thisdetermination. The database may be internal to application server 206 ormay be an external database such as presence database 208, incommunication with application server 206 via communications link 5. Inthis embodiment, application server 206 instructs call agent 204 toallocate conference resources only if the subscriber is available (i.e.,the subscriber has registered or logged onto the data network andindicated that he wants to monitor messages as they are recorded tovoice messaging system server 108).

If the subscriber is not available, then application server 206instructs call agent 204 to set up call legs directly between inboundmedia gateway 112 to outbound media gateway 114. FIG. 3B shows how aresulting voice path may be established between the caller and VMSserver 108, through media gateway 112, communications link 20, mediagateway 114 and communications link 16. As shown in FIG. 3B, the voicepath in this situation need not connect through a conference server,thereby preserving conference resources for other uses.

Operation from a Subscriber's Perspective

Once the voice paths have been established between the caller attelephone 116, VMS server 108 and packet telephony client 210, thesubscriber (if he is using packet telephony client 210) may passivelymonitor the conversation between the caller and the VMS system. That is,the subscriber may monitor the caller's message as it is being recordedto VMS server 108 without interrupting the caller. In some embodimentsof the present invention, the subscriber's leg of the call may becontrolled by software on packet telephony client 210. That is, packettelephony client 210 may include logic for ensuring that thesubscriber's monitoring of the call is a one-way communication. Onereason such control may be desirable is to prevent the caller fromknowing that the call is being screened. A one-way communication mayalso be established by, for example, muting the microphone on packettelephony client 210. In other embodiments of the present invention,conference server 202 may be adapted to ensure a one-way communicationto the subscriber.

In other embodiments of the invention, if the subscriber has multimediacapabilities (e.g., a microphone and speakers) on packet telephonyclient 210 he may be provided the capability to accept the call andbecome a full participant in the call. For example, in one embodiment ofthe present invention, the subscriber may select an option provided byprogramming logic on packet telephony client 210 to join the call. Inthis embodiment, packet telephony client 210 may send a message to callagent 204 indicating the subscriber's intent to answer the call. Callagent 204 may then instruct conference server 202 to drop VMS server 108(and media gateway 114) from the call. Packet telephony client 210 (orconference server 202) may then allow a two-way communication betweenthe caller and the subscriber, via conference server 202.

In another embodiment, even if the subscriber does not have multimediacapabilities on packet telephony client 210, he may still be providedthe capability to intercept the call via a telephone device, such astelephone 118, telephone 106, or some other telephone (not shown in theFigures). In this embodiment, the subscriber may send a message (viapacket telephony client 210) to call agent 204 instructing it establisha call leg to the telephone device. Call agent 204 may instructconference server 202 accordingly, and the subscriber may then answerthe call on the telephone device and speak to the caller. VMS server 108(and media gateway 114) and packet telephony client 210 may then bedropped from the conference call.

Operation from a Caller's Perspective

The above described steps (i.e., message transactions between theapplication server, media gateways and other network elements) generallytake place very quickly. Accordingly, there need not be any significantdelay in connecting the caller to VMS server 108. From the caller'spoint of view, the call appears to be a conventionally routed call tothe subscriber's voice mail. Unless the subscriber is providedcapability to “pick up” the call, and actually does so, the caller maynot be aware of the additional call processing steps described herein.

Process Flow in One Embodiment

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of steps that may be carried out in anembodiment of the present invention. As described above, computerprogramming logic for performing these steps may be performed byapplication server 206 or in a system combining functionality ofapplication server 206 and call agent 204. In step 400 a call to asubscriber of a network-based voice messaging server is received at theswitch servicing the subscriber's line. In steps 402 and 404, if thesubscriber's line is not busy, the switch terminates the call to thesubscriber's line in a conventional manner. The subscriber's line thenrings or otherwise provides an alert. If, in step 406, the call isanswered, no further call processing is required and the process ends.Otherwise, if the call is not answered, the process moves on to step 408and the call is forwarded to an inbound media gateway. Similarly, if instep 402, the subscriber's line is busy or not available, the processmoves on to step 408 as shown in FIG. 4.

After the inbound media gateway receives the call, it sends a message toan application server in step 410 (via a call agent system). The messagemay include the calling party number or other information identifyingthe call received on the inbound media gateway. The message may alsoinclude the called party number or other information identifying thesubscriber. In step 412, the application server may check a presencedatabase to determine whether or not the subscriber is currentlyregistered on the IP network. If, in step 414, the application serverdetermines that the subscriber is registered on the IP network, theapplication server sends a message to a conference server (via a callagent system) instructing the conference server to initiate a three-wayconference call between the inbound media gateway, the subscriber andthe voice messaging service in step 416.

Otherwise, the process moves on to step 418 where the call is forwardedfrom the inbound media gateway to the outbound media gateway. As notedabove, in some embodiments, a single media gateway may be used. In thiscase, step 418 would not be performed and the process would move ondirectly to step 420. In step 420 the caller is connected to thesubscriber's voice messaging service via the media gateway(s). Afterconnecting the caller to the subscriber's voice messaging service, theprocess ends as shown in FIG. 4.

If the subscriber is registered on the IP network, the process continuesin steps 416 and 422, where the conference server sets up the conferencecall between the caller, the subscriber and the voice messaging service.If an outbound media gateway is used, then the conference call includesthe outbound media gateway in the call path to the subscriber. Afterstep 422 has been completed, the subscriber may monitor thecommunication between the caller and the voice message system. In anembodiment of the present invention, the caller is not provided any cuesindicating that the call has been transferred to the voice messagingserver via the IP network. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the callermay not be made aware that the subscriber is able to listen in on thecommunication.

As described above, the subscriber may elect to intervene in the call.If, in step 424, the subscriber makes a request to take the call, theprocess moves on to step 426. The subscriber may request to receive thecall on a conventional telephone device or via the subscriber's clientsystem. If the subscriber wishes to use a conventional telephone, thesubscriber may provide a directory number for the telephone to which thecall should be directed. Alternatively, the subscriber may havepre-identified a directory number as part of a registration process. Ineither case, the conference server (via a call agent system) may bedirected to drop the voice messaging server from the conference call asindicated in step 426.

FIGS. 5-8 show alternative embodiments of the present invention. Each ofthe embodiments include many of the components described above. FIG. 5shows an embodiment wherein packet telephony client 210 is in directcommunication with the application server 206 and conference server 202in addition to call agent 204. Such direct communication may be useful,for example, in embodiments wherein applicable programming logicassociated with the present invention is operated on each of thesystems. That is for example, if conference server 202 is adapted toreceive instructions directly from packet telephony client 210,communications link 7 may be used. Similarly, if packet telephony client210 needs to send registration information to applicable server 206,communications link 8 may be used.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment wherein the programming logic andfunctionality of application server 206 and call agent 204 have beencombined into a single component. In this embodiment, applicationserver/call agent 600 may include communications links 601-605 as shownin FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment wherein the programming logic andfunctionality of application server 206, call agent 204 and conferenceserver 202 are combined into a single component. Application server/callagent/conference server 700 includes data paths 701-704 and voice paths710 and 712 as shown in FIG. 7.

The foregoing disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations andmodifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. Thescope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appendedhereto, and by their equivalents.

Further, in describing representative embodiments of the presentinvention, the specification may have presented the method and/orprocess of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps.However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on theparticular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process shouldnot be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps maybe possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth inthe specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims.In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of thepresent invention should not be limited to the performance of theirsteps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readilyappreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within thespirit and scope of the present invention.

1. A method of monitoring a voice messaging server comprising:receiving, at a device in a packet-switched network, an incoming callfrom a switch associated with a first telephony device associated with asubscriber; and initiating communications, responsive to the incomingcall, between a device associated with the incoming call, the voicemessaging server and a packet-switched telephony client, thepacket-switched telephony client being separate and remote from thefirst telephony device and associated with the subscriber so as to allowpassive monitoring of the initiated communications between the deviceassociated with the incoming call and the voice messaging system by thesubscriber at the packet-switched telephony client.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving further comprises: receiving an inbound callnotification indicating that the incoming call has been received; andobtaining a network address associated with the packet-switchedtelephony client, wherein initiating communications further comprisesinitiating call legs between the device associated with the incomingcall, the voice messaging server and the packet-switched telephonyclient identified by the network address and communicating over theinitiated call legs.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein initiating thecall legs comprises: initiating a call leg between a media gateway and aconference server; and initiating a call leg between the media gatewayand the voice messaging server.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein themedia gateway comprises an inbound media gateway and an outbound mediagateway, wherein initiating the call leg between a media gateway and aconference server comprises initiating the call leg between the inboundmedia gateway and the conference server and wherein initiating a callleg between the media gateway and the voice messaging server comprisesinitiating a call leg between the outbound media gateway and the voicemessaging server.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprisingallocating conference resources at the conference server so as to allowcommunication between the device associated with the incoming call andthe voice messaging server.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: transmitting a message from the packet-switched telephonyclient indicating an intent of the subscriber to answer the call;removing the call legs between the conference server and the voicemessaging server; and allocating conference resources at the conferenceserver so as to allow communication between the packet-switchedtelephony client and the device associated with the incoming call. 7.The method of claim 5, further comprising: transmitting a message fromthe packet-switched telephony client indicating an intent of thesubscriber to answer the call; establishing a communication link betweena second telephony device and the device associated with the incomingcall; and removing the call leg between the packet-switched telephonyclient and the voice messaging server
 8. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising transmitting an invitation to the packet-switched telephonyclient inviting the subscriber to join the communication between thedevice associated with the incoming call and the voice messaging server.9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: accepting the invitationat the packet-switched telephony client; and establishing acommunication path between the packet-switched telephony client and theconference server so as to allow communication between the deviceassociated with the incoming call and the subscriber.
 10. The method ofclaim 5, wherein allocating is preceded by determining an availabilitystatus of the subscriber on the packet-switched data network and whereinallocating further comprises allocating conference resources at theconference server if the availability status of the subscriber indicatesthat the subscriber is available.
 11. The method of claim 10, whereinthe media gateway comprises an inbound media gateway and an outboundmedia gateway, the method further comprising initiating a call legbetween the inbound media gateway and the outbound media gateway so asto allow direct communication between the device associated with theincoming call and the voice messaging server without the use ofconference resources.
 12. A computer program product for monitoring avoice messaging system, the computer program product comprising: acomputer readable storage medium having computer readable program codeembodied in said medium, said computer readable program code comprising:computer readable program code configured to receive an incoming callfrom a switch associated with a first telephony device associated with asubscriber; and computer readable program code configured to initiatecommunications, responsive to the incoming call, between a deviceassociated with the incoming call, the voice messaging server and aclient, the client being separate and remote from the first telephonydevice and associated with the subscriber so as to allow passivemonitoring of the initiated communications between the device associatedwith the incoming call and the voice messaging system by the subscriberat the client.
 13. The computer program product of claim 12, furthercomprising computer readable program code configured to allocateconference resources at a conference server, wherein the initiatedcommunications between the device associated with the incoming call, thevoice messaging server and the client are provided through theconference server.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingcomputer readable program code configured to determine an availabilitystatus of the subscriber and wherein the computer readable program codeconfigured to allocate further comprises computer readable program codeconfigured to allocate conference resources at the conference server ifthe availability status of the subscriber indicates that the subscriberis available.
 15. The computer program product of claim 12, furthercomprising: computer readable program code configured to transmit aninvitation to the client inviting the subscriber to join thecommunication between the device associated with the incoming call andthe voice messaging server; computer readable program code configured toaccept the invitation at the client; and computer readable program codeconfigured to establish a communication path between the client and aconference server so as to allow communication between the deviceassociated with the incoming call and the subscriber.
 16. A method ofremotely monitoring an incoming call comprising monitoring a voicemessaging server associated with a first telephony device associatedwith a subscriber at a client device for an incoming call, the clientdevice being separate and remote from the first telephony device andassociated with the subscriber.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising: transmitting a message from the client indicating an intentof the subscriber to answer the call; and initiating communications witha device associated with the incoming call at the client.
 18. The methodof claim 16, further comprising receiving an invitation at the clientinviting the subscriber to join a communication between a deviceassociated with the incoming call and the voice messaging server. 19.The method of claim 18, further comprising: accepting the invitation atthe client; and establishing communications between the deviceassociated with the incoming call and the subscriber at the client. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein the receiving is preceded by providingan availability status of the subscriber.